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Local media reported that the embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin is expected to resign on Monday after his government’s poor response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the widening divisions within the ruling coalition marked his turbulent 17 After months in power, he will resign on Monday.
He is expected to inform the king of his decision after presiding over his last cabinet meeting at 10 am (02:00 GMT).
Muhyiddin ignored the call for him to step down and held a series of meetings with his party on Sunday after acknowledging in a televised speech last week that he no longer has a majority seat.
Later, the Minister of the Prime Minister’s Department Mohamad Redzuan Yusof told the online newspaper Malaysiakini that Muhyiddin had told the party that he planned to resign the next day.
The political turmoil comes amid growing public anger at the continued surge in coronavirus cases, despite months of lockdowns of varying degrees.
Many Malaysians accuse the government of spending too much time in politics and not enough time to govern.
As the overloaded government hospitals are difficult to deal with, about 12,510 people have died from this disease.
On Sunday, Malaysia recorded 20,546 cases on Sunday, which is the fourth consecutive day of more than 20,000 cases.
Who is Muhyiddin Yassin?
The 74-year-old Muhyiddin is a veteran politician who started his career with the Malay National Unity Organization (UMNO) and then changed his job in the multi-billion dollar 1MDB scandal in 2015.
He became prime minister in March 2020, after the political turmoil the previous week triggered a power grab within the then-ruling Pakatan Harapan, leading to the resignation of his predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad.
After several days of uncertainty, Muhyiddin convinced the king that he had enough support among members of the parliament to form a government.
His National League (PN) coalition includes his own Turkish League party-without founder Mahathir and his supporters-defectors from the former government party of the Kidilan Bharatiya Janata Party, as well as Umno and Islamic Malaysia. The party or PAS (the Islamic Party of the country) and GPS, the ruling party of Sarawak Borneo.
Muhyiddin’s cabinet consists of 70 people and is the largest cabinet in Malaysian history, including four “senior ministers”. Some politicians have also been appointed to important roles in government-related enterprises.
Muhyiddin was appointed prime minister after persuading the king that he had a majority in parliament [File: Lim Huey Teng/Reuters]What went wrong?
Since Muhyiddin came to power, his support and legitimacy have been questioned.
Due to the pandemic blockade, the parliament will not meet for the first time after the change of government until July 2020. Muhyiddin survived the delayed budget vote, with a majority of only two votes.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has repeatedly claimed that he supports the rule, but it turns out that Umno is Muhyiddin’s biggest headache.
Since its establishment in 1946, as part of the country’s political landscape, the PN era has witnessed a new split among the party’s top leaders.
While those in key positions in the cabinet support the status quo, other senior members-including Umno chairman Ahmed Zahid Hamidi and former prime minister Najib Razak-are more critical. Zahid was tried on a series of corruption charges, and Najib was convicted for the first time in a series of trials related to 1MDB in 2020.
Since September last year, the party has repeatedly announced the withdrawal of support for Muhyiddin.
In July, just hours before Zahid was expected to announce that the party would no longer support him, Muhyiddin promoted Ismail Sabri Yaacob and Hishammuddin Hussein, two of the most prominent Umno politicians in his cabinet, to senior positions. Sabri was appointed deputy prime minister.
What about COVID-19?
Soon after taking office, Muhyiddin implemented strict blockade measures, which proved to be effective in controlling the coronavirus to a large extent.
Restrictions are gradually lifted, and in July 2020, the country announced zero cases.
As hospitals have reached their limits and more patients have been forced to quarantine at home, the number of deaths due to the coronavirus pandemic in Malaysia has reached 12,510 [File: Fazry Ismail/EPA]But the outbreak broke out in Sabah, Borneo, where PN politicians began to oppose the state government-in line with the former Pakatan Harapan government.
A sort of State election Asked to proceed in September, politicians fly back and forth between Sabah and Kuala Lumpur without isolation.
The result was a surge in cases, leading to the implementation of new restrictions in October. Just before the Christmas and New Year holidays (a popular tourist time in Malaysia), these regulations were relaxed again, and the number of cases surged again in January.
Muhyiddin announced under increasing political pressure that he had received the support of the king State of emergency In order to fight the epidemic. The decision also suspended Parliament.
Since then, cases have continued to increase, triggering what Muhyiddin called a “total lockdown” in June, when the country reported 7,000 cases a day.
The prolonged interruption of business and school education, coupled with the lack of financial support, has exacerbated the anger of many Malaysians.
There are young people protesting, strike Junior doctors and grassroots sports provide help to those most in need.
Malaysian think tank IMAN said in a statement on Sunday: “It is clear that the current strategy is not working and the current government has failed.” “New strategies and new leadership are urgently needed.”
One of the few bright spots is that the country’s vaccination program has been significantly accelerated after a slow start. According to the government, about 32.9% of the population has been vaccinated twice now.
Malaysians participated in a rare anti-government rally in Kuala Lumpur on July 31, 2021, despite the COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown measures strictly restricting gatherings and public gatherings {Document: Arif Kartono/AFP]Who can take over?
Given the unstable state of political loyalty, it is unclear who will become the country’s next prime minister.
The chaos can see Umno return to pole position.
Although Ismail Sabri played a prominent role in responding to the pandemic, this includes Ismail Sabri.
It is said that Tengku Razali, a senior Umno leader, is also possible.
The opposition Anwar Ibrahim may think this is his last chance to serve as prime minister, a position that has long been Escaped he.
The opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP) said that instead of focusing on who should become the next prime minister, politicians should focus on an effective COVID-19 “reset plan,” that is, measures to support economic and institutional reforms.
What about the role of the king?
Malaysia has one Unique monarchy The role of the king is rotated among the nine Malay sultans every five years.
The current monarch Sultan King Abdullah is from central Pahang and took the throne in 2019.
This is a constitutional monarchy, but since Muhyiddin took power, the king has become more prominent.
Before he was convinced that Muhyiddin was supported to form a government, he met with each MP separately, but also rejected Muhyiddin’s first urgent request last year.
In June, amid the deepening COVID-19 crisis and ongoing political manipulation, he called on the parliament to meet “as soon as possible” and called again two weeks later.
Malaysia has a constitutional monarch, but in months of political uncertainty, the king has played a more important role [File: Fazry Ismail/EPA]
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